1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that accesses data stored in a recording medium that includes erroneous-erasure prevention means, and a method for controlling recording in the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memory cards having a mechanical write-prevention mechanism, such as an erroneous-erasure prevention pawl or the like, are well known. In such a memory card, which may include a flexible disk or a cassette tape, when an erroneous-erasure prevention pawl is set at a write-prevention position, erasure of data stored in the memory card and writing of new data into the memory card are prohibited.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a memory card 100 including an erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102, and illustrates the memory card 100 in a state in which erroneous-erasure prevention is released. FIG. 7 illustrates the memory card 100 in a state in which erroneous erasure is prevented. When the erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102 is slid to the position shown in FIG. 6, the erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102 is set in an erroneous-erasure prevention release position and the memory card 100 is set in an erroneous-erasure prevention release state; when the erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102 is slid in the direction of an arrow WP (Write Prevention) as shown in FIG. 7, the erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102 is set in the erroneous-erasure prevention position and the memory card 100 is set in an erroneous-erasure prevention state.
If a memory card including a mechanical erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism such as the erroneous-erasure prevention pawl 102 is used in a digital camera or a digital camcorder, the following drawbacks may arise.
Initially, some digital cameras and digital camcorders for recording images in a memory card form a file for designating printing operation information for a stored image (DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)). Although a detailed description will be omitted herein, a DPOF file describes, for example, the number of prints of each image to be printed. For example, when asking a print-service shop to perform printing, the printer system reads a DPOF file within a card, and automatically prints the designated number of copies of each designated image. A personal printer can also perform similar automatic printing if it has the function of discriminating a DPOF file.
When presenting a memory card to a print-service shop, in order to prevent rewriting or erasure of images stored in the memory card, a user may set the memory card to a state for prohibiting writing, and release designation of printing operation information that has been set, after printing. For that purpose, it is necessary to temporarily release the erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism immediately before printing. However, it is problematic to release the erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism solely for the purpose of changing designation of printing operation information.
In some cases, the user inadvertently may perform an operation of writing or erasing an image as a result of forgetting that the erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism remains in the released state, and become aware of the state of prevention of erroneous erasure only after receiving an error message.
In another case, the user may forget to change the designated printing operation information after performing a printing operation, and undesirably again print an image when the user subsequently inserts the memory card into a printer the next time. This results in great waste.
In order to overcome drawbacks, a configuration has been proposed in which a release mechanism which automatically releases an erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism of a memory card is provided in a printer. However, in a printer that allows insertion of a plurality of different types of memory cards having different mechanical shapes, it is necessary to adapt such a release mechanism to a plurality of types of erroneous-erasure prevention mechanisms. Hence, this approach may be onerous or impractical.
A configuration also may be considered in which, rather than providing a mechanical erroneous-erasure prevention mechanism, a change of writing is prohibited for each file, as in a filing system of a computer. In this approach, however, it is impossible to determine whether or not rewriting or erasure of a recorded image is prohibited by observing an external appearance of the memory card. In addition, it is necessary to connect the memory card to a particular apparatus when setting it in a protection state or releasing it from such a setting. This is also problematic.